Is Pope Francis Catholic?

This is an absurd rhetorical question, but it bears asking, because according to Jon O’Brien, president of the hilariously named “Catholics for Choice,” Pope Francis is not nearly Catholic enough (or too Catholic, depending on how you look at it). Writing in the Washington Post, he provides a list of complaints which, in his view, the Catholic Church badly needs to address. Like Martin Luther and John Calvin before him, Jon O’Brien knows far better than the Vicar of Christ what it means to be a faithful Catholic and he is not afraid to tell all Christendom what he thinks we should believe.

Only his recent predecessors? Which not-so-recent pope was a theological liberal? The biggest change in Catholic theology over the last hundred years was the promulgation of the Assumption of Mary as an official dogma of the Church. Vatican II may have given us the Novus Ordo liturgical reforms, but it didn’t change what it means to be a faithful Catholic. Our beliefs are the same.

“The pill you will always have with you; but you will not always have me.” Matthew §5.3.25(C)(d)

3. “This resulted in a College of Cardinals unlikely to elect a pope who will bring about the changes the Catholic majority so urgently desires.”

This sounds like a no true Scotsman fallacy. For this statement to be true, the “Catholic majority” can only be defined as people who agree with Jon O’Brien’s dissenting views.

4. “At two meetings at the U.N. in June, the Vatican’s representative stood up to oppose sexual and reproductive health, just as he and his predecessors have always done. Pope Francis talks of compassion for poor but has done nothing to change the hierarchy’s ban on contraception, something that would help interrupt the cycle of poverty perpetuated in developing nations where lifesaving contraception is unavailable.”

Compassion for the poor consists of preventing them from being born. Got it. Thanks for the clarification.

Jesus Giving An Annoying Lecture by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1877

5. “Pope Francis may have spared us the usual lecture about abortion but we can’t expect much movement on this issue.”

And as Catholics, we have a right to expect the Pope to lecture us on topics we want to hear—just like Jesus did—not on difficult subjects with which we personally disagree!

6. “Pope Francis did state that he won’t judge gay people, but continues to deny them the right to express their love in the same way as do heterosexuals…”

This contortion of the English language underscores just how silly the whole debate over “gay marriage” really is. Homosexual relationships, by their very nature, are not the same as heterosexual relationships. They cannot possibly be the same! Advocates of same-sex marriage seek the same legal recognition as heterosexuals, but they cannot change biology.

Also, Pope Francis said he won’t judge gay people who seek to live according to Christ’s teachings.There’s a big difference.

7. “…when Francis was asked about the role of women in church, and the possibility that one day the church could enjoy the gifts of ordained women, he insisted that door was closed…The doors and windows in the Vatican have been closed for a very long time. The air is stale. Faithful Catholics pray for real transformation—perhaps through Pope Francis.”

It is said that when God closes a door, He opens a window. Pope Francis has spent much of his young papacy describing the gifts of women and how they contribute to the life of the Church. [N.B., as Catholics, we capitalize that word.]

As for praying for a real transformation, O’Brien finally gets one right. Every day, faithful Catholics pray for the reconciliation and conversion of dissenters and unbelievers and every year we welcome new converts and returning Catholics back into the Church at the Easter Vigil.

Of course, if Jon O’Brien actually believed in Catholic teaching, he would know all this, but he doesn’t. There’s another name for “Catholics for Choice.” They’re called Protestants, but even that is not fair to Protestants, most of whom are more familiar with the teachings of Christ than O’Brien seems to be. The Washington Post does a great disservice to its readers by giving a forum to the likes of O’Brien who speaks only for himself and his political pressure group whose mission is apparently to attack the faithful for holding to our beliefs.

The views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of CatholicVote.org

About Author

Joshua Bowman joined in full communion with the Catholic Church in 2010 after many years in the spiritual wilderness. He recently moved back to his beloved native Virginia from Columbus, Ohio with his growing family and writes on religion, politics, history, and geographical curiosities.

1 Comment

Who am I to judge….Just ask the Franciscan Friars of the immaculate….moving liberal…really. church is theatre in the round, kneelers are disappearing, the Priests take liberties with the liturgy, communion in the hand, statues disappearing, no discussion of sin or hell, holding hands during the Our Father, oren posture for laity,… why is our tradition something to be avoided? Why are rules we followed for a thousand years undesirable.